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Monday, August 17, 2015

OverDrive Media Stations Will Soon be in Public Spaces

Overdrive Media Stations are computer terminals in which patrons can borrow and checkout digital content inside libraries. These have been available since 2013 and have been adopted at hundreds of locations in the US. These terminals were developed to exclusively be inside a library, but Overdrive is cooking up something special. They have created new kiosks that are designed to be in public spaces.

Libraries will soon be able to have the option of opting into the new public version of the Overdrive Media Station. They will feature 60-inch screens and professional-grade kiosks for high-traffic areas like hotels, airports, subways, etc. These installations encourage people to walk up and use the kiosk.

OMS supports discovery through special collections like new releases, available now, and children's books, as well as browse by subject or search by keyword. The OMS also allows users to sample all content during their experience and send themselves emails or text messages about the content they want to borrow. When they walk away, they can continue their interaction on their smartphone or tablet, or desktop at home.

The Overdrive Media Station for public spaces has three main purposes for libraries.

1) It promotes the local library as a modern and innovative community organization.

2) Facilitates the acquisition or re-acquisition of members (that is, it encourages people to use the library).

3) Specifically promotes the library's digital services and collections for discovery, sampling and checkout or hold.

The new kiosk system will cost around $13,000 each for libraries looking to branch out into promoting their system in public spaces. They should be available towards the end of 2015, but no definitive date has been set yet.